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Faithful Followers

Sunday, March 2, 2008

It's that time of the week again. Time for me to scroll through hundreds of comments and try to pick out all the questions from you, my loyal readers.

Let's see here - thank you again to all my readers who took the time to send us cards, letters, postcards, pictures, and information about your towns! We really do appreciate it! Here is an updated map. I'm caught up with all correspondence received up until last week.

Thank you to everyone who has voted for my blog in one of more of the Blogger's Choice Awards. I guess the voting will continue throughout the year.

And now for your questions...

OK - I have to know how to do that glorious cheeseburger cake!!!!!! How are the layers done? - GrammaThe "buns" are yellow cakes and the "burgers" are chocolate cakes. I think I just used commercial chocolate frosting on the chocolate cakes and I used no icing on the yellow cakes. Then I put icing "lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, onions, and sesame seeds" on the cakes. Super fast and easy!

How is the play coming along? Are you finding it to be a good release/time off or is it another thing on your to-do list? Hey, your husband could video your scenes and then you could post it on your blog for all your readers. What do you think?? - Lisa, San Antonio, TexasEh, the play's going ok. A fellow cast member switched parts with me so I have a much smaller one now! Yay! Thank you Pam! Maybe now I'll be able to memorize my lines before opening night. And as far as putting my scenes on here...ummm, I think no. I was in Arsenic and Old Lace last year. My friend wanted to see the DVD of the play so I mailed it to her. She was only able to handle watching 5 minutes of it before she went blind.

Did you take the (cake decorating) class at Harper? COD? MCC? - Michelle Yep - Harper!

Here's a question for you: when you delegate to the kids, do you go fix what they've done afterwards? - Raising Country KidsHmmm, it depends how insane busy I am on that day.

Now, along with all the other things you need to accomplish, how's that Dr appt coming along? - KathyI'll have you know that I called to make an appointment and was told, "The doctor doesn't have any openings for new patients until June.""That's fine. That fits right in with my procrastinating. Can I schedule the appointment for June then?""No. You'll have to call back at the end of March to set up the appointment."Wanna take bets on whether I'll remember to call at the end of March?Then I called my OB to set up that appointment and was told that they could see me right away in April.

I used to wait tables as well, and have similar dreams frequently. Except that instead of missing my tie, I'm missing all upper body clothing. And no one notices. - JanetUh yeah, if that was me, people would notice. "Excuse me Miss? Could you please lift your boob out of my soup?"

Question for your SSO: With 6 kids, how do you handle daily chores? Do your kids work off a chore chart? Do they get paid for doing those chores?Lisa in San AntonioI usually just scream at them to do something and then I break down and do it myself.

Just one question, how many lists do you have? I have a daily list, a meal plan for the week list, a grocery list, a wish list, and a finish that project list! AllishaOh man! I've never thought about it before! Oh great! Now I'm going to have to make a list of my lists so I know how many there are!

Maybe a question for your Sunday Sound out thingie... when did each of your kids start walking/crawling? - anonymousThey didn't walk. They ran. And before they were a year old. I remember back to when Austin was a baby. I'd walk with him, holding his hands, trying to teach him to balance and walk on his own. By the time the third came around, I knew that walking was highly overrated and every time Jackson would start to stand up, I'd just kick him back down. It didn't work though.

Didn't you know that the more kids you have, the more puke you have to deal with? - anonymousNOOO! No one told me that! That's not something you read about in those parenting books - the more kids you have, the more puke there will be to clean up.

ELDERBERRY Extract~!! it's an immune booster that helps short-circuit the flu or help those around it not get it. - KateAnd it can put lonely old men out of their misery if you mix is with cyanide, strychnine, and arsenic.

A question for your Sunday Sound-out: You mentioned in a previous post that you can't go to bed knowing you have e-mail in your inbox. Were you checking your blog comments while you were sick, or are you past all the excitement of thousands of e-mails a day? - StephanieUgh, I've given up on that. At any given time, I'm a week or more behind on my email.

Oh Dawn! The things we'll do for our kids! I hope you all feel better SOON. I'll keep you in my prayers. And I hope Brooklyn is still speaking to Clay. LOL - KarlaShe's speaking to him, but she calls him, "ClayPunk".

Also: What kind of camera do you use that takes such great pictures? (especially at night of the eclipse) - anonymousI have a Sony Cyber Shot with a 12X optical zoom. I got the display model for 50% off too! Score!

Today Dawn you can be an honorary Brit and have an extra 'Mother's Day'. Today (Sunday) is Mother's Day here in the UK - and let's face it with so many kids you deserve an extra one!!!! - GailWoo Hoo! I never knew that other countries celebrated Mother's Day. It's interesting that it's on a different day too. Learn something every day!

Why exactly DID Joe paint the closets? To brighten them up so you could see inside better? That's the only thing I could come up with. - RobinBecause he's Joe.

Are you still in touch w/Mimi??? - anonymousOf course! We email a couple times a week and I read her updates whenever she posts them. I loved her update from a couple days ago, in fact. It gave me goosebumps....

We left ,picked up Dana and went to have lunch . Then T. wanted to go to Julian's grave site , step I hadnt taken yet.It was strange , I didnt let myself think too much as William was with us, therefore didnt let myself feel much...Since most of you cant be here and visit Julian here you are ...I didn't let emotions take over that is until emotions didn't give me a choice...As we were walking out , William pointed at something and wanted to run after it . We looked and there was a yellow butterfly . WOW !!Then a second one fluttered around .As we kept walking towards the gate , we saw more and more yellow butterflies .It gave us goosebumps all over... We must have seen a dozen ... We thanked Julian for his gift , and walked to the car still in a happy daze... As we approached the car ,outside of the gates , we looked for butterflies everywhere, but NOOO, we couldn't see any. William turned around and pointed to the otherside of the gate " Butterflies in there" ....It was amazing and heartwarming...

I just put a new toilet seat on and installed a new spayer for my kitchen sink. - Kristine in MIOK I know this was just a typo, but it cracked me up anyway. Now you can wash your hands and have your cat fixed in the kitchen sink at the same time!

So Dawn, when you are planning an event at your house, do all the kids chip in the help out? - KorkieYou bet your butt! They were awesome with this last party. Austin and Savannah did a ton of stuff to help me!

Hubby just found a dead mouse behind our fridge.... my question is what do you do to get rid of the decaying dead mouse smell once you have gotten rid of it. I can still my the lingering wafts of decayed meat. - KorkieJust have the kids throw up in the house. That'll cover up any other smells.

I was surprised to see how many other people "don't do barf". One time, one of the boys threw up on the carpet in their room. After my husband cleaned and cleaned and extracted it, it still smelled so I cut the whole patch of carpet out and tossed it. We went with a big square of bare floor there for years. If it was up to me, we'd move to another house every time someone threw up.I also do anything in my power to avoid getting sick myself. A couple years ago, we had friends over for New Year's Eve. My friend had some stomach virus and was feeling kinda oogy. She said, "I think I'd feel better if I could just throw up." OK, she might as well have said, "I think I'd feel better if I chewed my foot off." Ewww! So after a while, she went to the bathroom, threw up, and came out saying, "I feel much better. What's for dessert?" Oh my gosh! If I'd thrown up at someone's house like that, I would've curled up in a little ball, and stayed in her bathroom crying for the rest of the night.

I was also surprised how many of you are neuroticcrazy curious about the idiosyncrasies of cartoons. They're CARTOONS people! Not reality. It's ok if Donald Duck doesn't wear pants and yet wraps a towel around his waist when he gets out of the tub. He's an ANIMATED DRAWING OF A DUCK! It's ok if Max & Ruby's parents aren't in the cartoon. It's a PRETEND SHOW ABOUT BUNNIES! Deep breaths. In, out. In, out. It's ok.

42 comments:

Hey, I did puke, and I EVEN DID poop. When my wife started a daycare in our home (many years ago) I told her that I wouldn't do "dirty" diapers. Then she got pregnant with our first child and the first "dirty" diaper she faced sent her to the toilet.

So it was "Katie Bar the Door!" I went in - took charge and changed that puppy.

And I can relate to the vomit-thing too. But can everyone who hates it when their kids throw up spare a thought for us single mums, please? When my kids hurl, I have to get 3 buckets - one full of hot soapy water to wash the carpet, one full of clean fresh water to rinse, and an empty bucket for me to spew into while I'm cleaning up theirs.

Then I have to rinse out the bedding/curtains/jarmies in the dark, because the sound, smell and especially the sight of it makes everything in my stomach violently reappear.

It's possibly the only time I wish I had a husband again.

(And now I might leisurely make my way to the bathroom, because my stomach is churning just thinking about it.)

Hi Dawn!Hope you all feel better soon. An old house remedy (at least here in Sweden) is to take whole white peppercorns, about 15-20 at once, the moment you realise you've interacted with someone with a stomache flu. I'm not kidding, it really works!Great cakes btw, maybe one day I'll be as skilled as you. Or I could pay someone to do them for me :DBig hugsThe Olsson family in Sweden

For the person with the dead mouse smell---baking soda. We had one die in our wall a few years ago. Hubby cut a whole in the wall and poured a box of baking soda in. The smell was gone in 2 days or less.

Dawn,I am so bummed. I sent a packet of Maryland info with pictures to Austin the last week of January. I cleaned out the visitors center, it cost $6 to mail (you're worth it), and it never got to you. It didn't come back to me either. Oh well, it will probably show up after school's out.Patty

Next time you get a horrid smelling stain in the carpet try Nature's Miracle Stain & Odor Remover --- I buy it at Petsmart and it takes out everything my kids and pets can dish out! (even cat pee and THAT is the worst!) It is rather pricy, but worth every cent. :-)Thanks for faithfully blogging about your family --- reading your posts makes my day....laughter is the best medicine!

Oh, yeah, Barf. Now I remember why I didn't want to have kids. They puke. I musta forgot that when my hormones overrode my brain, and I had them. When my first born threw up on his nice blanket, I threw the blanket away. When my second born threw up on the carpet I put cat litter over it. That did not improve the situation and wasn't one of my better ideas. When my niece threw up on my living room rug, I told her parents they had to clean it up or they couldn't leave. My kids all learned by the time they could walk, to make that frantic dash to the bathroom because MOM wasn't going to clean up puke. I don't even want to throw up when I am sick. Even thinking about it makes me gag. Funny though, my cat can yak up a hairball and it doesn't bother me at all. Go figure.

My boyfriend, SIL, MIL and mom all are so concerned about our children watching Max and Ruby since they have no parents.. THEY ARE CARTOONS!!! Kids know they are, how many bunnies have they seen waiting to catch a bus or at the fair with spider spitting jelly balls! I love your blog!

And one more for you cartoon people...preschool cartoons that is...J-Lo, not that I'm a huge fan of her's, has named her children Max & Emme. Dragontales, dragontales!!!I couldn't get it out of my head!

I must echo your sentiments involving the cartoons. Really people! If your children have been raised without being able to tell the difference between fact and fiction ... well, they aren't the ones to be held accountable for that.

We actually did have a cat spayed on the kitchen counter once (no, the kids didn't do it; it was a visiting veterinarian). And then she had to spend the next three days locked in the only main floor bathroom, while her drugs wore off. The cat, I mean, not the vet.

Oh another few laughs needed I've been dealing with puke since Friday...one kid at a time (kinda a blessing I guess-1 more to go) I too think we should move when they throw up, and I don't do puke very well at all! I had a thought about your closets...maybe Joe painted them so you'd have a nice place to hide...or if it was stinky paint a nice place to pass out when you need it!

I read your blog daily, but I never leave comments (duh - I'm posting as "anonymous", so how tech-y can I really be???). I peed a little I was laughing so hard when I read this week's sound out! Ha!! Thank you, THANK you for my daily dose of laughter - you truly have a gift and I am delighted that you have chosen to share it with meager common folk such as myself! :)

Hi there, I mailed a packet of postcards from Kenai Alaska. I can pop some more in the mail if those never came.Smile.I love reading your blog and check in everyday.Very glad you all are better! (I dont do bark either.My oldest kid bless her heart always has to deal with it)

I've been looking at your map. You're not making any inroads into North Dakota, or Montana. Nevada is not a hot bed of love for your blog either. What are your plans for making some headway into those territories?

LOL! "I cut the whole patch of carpet out and tossed it." I almost did that one time. DS#2 threw up one night, the whole contents of that night's supper. I looked at the mess and wondered if it would be easier to cut it out then try to clean it up. We cleaned it up, but carpet is highly overrated.

Hey I was thinking about something today. We filed our taxes and subsequently were reading about the tax rebate economic stimulus thing, and that made me think of you. Why, you ask? Well, it's because I read that you get $1200 per married couple, with an additional $300 per kid. And I thought to myself "Wow that Dawn chick is really gonna rake it in." That's when I started doing the math. I had to use my calculator because, well, I suck at math, and I can hardly add 2 and 2 in my head without electronic help. I'm numbers challenged; what can I say?!?

Anyway, do you realize that 6 x $300 is like $1800, plus $1200 for you & hubby?? And that comes to **ca-ching** $3,000!!!

So what are you going to do with all that loot?!? Or is that a MYOB question? If so, tell me to MYOB. Just had to comment that hoo boy, sometimes it pays to have half a dozen offspring!!

Oh girl.. I'm the same way. I'll do deep breathing excercises GALORE before I'll go get "sick". and I refuse to throw up in the toilet. The thought of anything splashing back up at me makes me want to dig my own eyeballs out(AND.. I have a big eyeball issue too.. don't even get me started on that one). My husband laughs at me, because while one person runs for the bathroom to go stick their face in the same place they poo in, I'm running for the sink with the garbage disposal, or a trash can ;).

And yes, I'm already aware that I'm strange.

I have a question for you.. maybe for next Sunday? What about germs? Are you a freak about germs, or have you just given up over the years? I'm still in complete "germophobe" mode and carry sanitizer and cleaning wipes everywhere I go. Instead of conosoling my oldest children when they have colds, I have a tendency to look at them with incredible fear, thinking "I don't want your geeeermmmmmsss! Staaay awaaaay".Good thing I don't say that out loud!

Tips for those of you who need to clean up someone else's puke. Put shaving cream on your upper lip. You'll smell the nice clean shaving cream instead of the yucky puke. Looks ridiculous, works like a charm.

Hi Dawn, Yep puke and cat yack =^..^=...another reason to own a dog! Gross I know. I have a unrelated question for next sunday. Do you ever buy your kids clothes from any thrift stores. It can be time consuming finding nice clean name brand ones but so worth it. Why is it that my husband can't stand my bragging on getting such good deals. Do we all brag about saving Money? Kristine in Michigan.

I am an nurse, so much to my distain, i *have* to deal with puke... its a sad story but its the high flying life i lead! thankfully though its only a work thing, im only 23 so dont have/want kids just yet!

Does one of your readers not realise she can look back over your posts to find your address? its not like you haven't posted it three time already! - i know this cos i have hunted it out too... but as of yet have not sent anything, hold on Austin, its coming!

Recently, hubby has been waking me up if a child gets sick and then cleaning up the child while I clean up the bed. Much better than when our older kids were little. He never heard them at night, unless it was to wake me up to take care of them and then go back to sleep.

Dawn, I sent a big envelope of stuff to you for Austin's school project weeks ago and it hasn't shown up on your map yet. (postcards, print outs from the internet & a copy of our local paper where I work)

I am from West Virginia and there are zero markers in the whole state! What gives?

We had the stomach flu last week too. I also don't do barf. But hubby conveniently slept through the nighttime barf baptizing from our two-year-old. Her room still smells like puke. And it was the one time I didn't have the waterproof mattress pad on. YUCK!

Borax works nice to get rid of the smell though. At least it did in my minivan. I forgot about doing it in her room until I started reading these posts about baking soda.

Dawn,This is so far down on the list I don't know if you will even get to it but hear goes. Next time or now that you have children or pets that excrete bodily fluid you need to get Nature's Miracle. It is a white bottle with a red cap. I am a dog groomer and buy the stuff by the case. It is so easy and works so well with odors. Just pour it on and leave it. The enzimes do all the work for you. It doesn't really get the stains up perfectly but there are other products for that. The odor is the problem for me so I love the stuff. Hope it helps. You can find it in any pet store or online.Blessings,Elaine

Yeah Dawn! I was starting to think that I was a little crazy because I had never once worried about Max and Ruby's parents! The only thing I think when I watch the show is "Man, if I had a child that could take that good care of their siblings and be more patient than I am about it, I'd split for a week! I also have never thought about the stupid things (fire underwater, drowning, etc) on Spongebob. I just sit back and enjoy the show-Spongebob rocks

Another idea for puke cleanup, especially on rugs or upholstery is 'the little green machine' (fitting name, eh?) I guess it's like a mini wet vac? You put cleaning solution in it that you spray on the area then vacuum up.

TMI alert * Just make sure you remove the chunks before vacuuming, or you guessed it, they go into the machine and you have to clean them out of there instead!

And here's my deal with hubby: I clean the puke, he cleans the green machine! Gross, but it gets it out of couch cushions and berber carpet.

So have we hurled enough solutions at you on this subject yet? Are you tired of us yaking on about it? Will you heave a sigh of relief when the last comment is written? Are you throwing up your hands in disgust at my bad jokes? =D

I was never really curious about cartoons until your post the other day. Now I'm noticing myself thinking things I would have never thought before. A couple of days ago I saw a Sponge Bob episode where they were having a snowball site. Suddenly I'm thinking to myself, how can it be snowing when they're underwater? Thanks. :)

I can help with the dead mouse thing. I saw this on "How Clean Is Your House?" the other day. They said to spray the body with diluted bleach water before moving it or it would just kick everything up into the air to circulate around.

Hi Dawn. Just wanted to make sure that you received the mail that I sent. I had included pictures of sunny Florida and my family. When I looked at the most updated map, I was not listed. It shows the farthest south Florida response from Melbourne and we are about an hour and a half further south. We are in Palm Beach Gardens, just north of West Palm Beach. The Honda Classic golf tournament was just played last week here in PGA National where I live. I know that your son loves Florida and I thought he would enjoy the pictures. I hope I put the right amount of postage, I never got it back so I assume so.

Dawn, I have greatly enjoyed your blog! I can't do the puke thing either. My kids learned early on that if they don't make it to the toilet, THEY clean it up. I was mortified to find one of them standing over me when I was in bed saying "Mom, I'm going to throw up!" I yelled "GET TO THE BATHROOM NOW!" BTW, about 2 yrs ago, I discovered something about myself. When my body decides it's going to heave, I start getting really sweaty, especially in the upper body. Now I get to the bathroom, rip my clothes off and take a cold wet rag and wipe myself down to cool me off. It stops the whole process and I don't puke! I hate barfing with a passion, so I was only too happy to discover this. I hope this works for others.Sheila